Railgun, a crypto privacy protocol, has denied allegations that it has been utilized by North Korea’s Lazarus Group for the purpose of cryptocurrency laundering.
Railgun, a crypto privacy protocol, has denied allegations that it has been utilized by North Korea’s Lazarus Group for the purpose of cryptocurrency laundering. Responding to crypto news reporter WuBlockchain on X, Railgun refuted the assertion that Lazarus had utilized their privacy protocol, labeling it as "false reporting." In January 2023, the FBI claimed that North Korean cyber attackers had employed Railgun to launder over $60 million worth of Ether (ETH) from the 2022 Harmony Bridge heist.
Previously, blockchain security firm Elliptic referred to Railgun as a "prime alternative to Tornado Cash" after the U.S. government imposed sanctions on the crypto mixer. However, Railgun explained that the alleged group had already been blocked from using the RAILGUN system by the "Private Proofs of Innocence" system, which was introduced over a year ago.
The platform, which was established in January 2021, leverages zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography to protect wallet balances, transaction history, and transaction details. This enables users to engage with decentralized apps (DApps) on Ethereum or other supported chains while maintaining their privacy.
Following reports of Vitalik Buterin sending 100 ETH ($325,000) to Railgun, the Ethereum co-founder praised Railgun, arguing that privacy is a normal aspect and highlighting how the privacy pools protocol makes it significantly more challenging for malicious actors to participate in the pool.
The protocol's native token, Railgun (RAIL), rallied following Buterin’s post, and is currently trading at $1.17, reflecting an 86% increase over the past seven days. Railgun’s total volume also surged, and is nearing the $1 billion mark. Its total value locked on Ethereum has surpassed $25 million.
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